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Surgery

After an orthopedic procedure, it is common to have a convalescent period of weeks to months before recovery is attained. Physical rehabilitation may help patients achieve maximum recovery. Physical therapy is also valuable for easing chronic pain in pets.

In this prospective clinical study, the effect of perioperative oral carprofen on limb function and pain after cranial cruciate ligament surgery was evaluated in 20 dogs treated at a university teaching hospital.

Minimally invasive surgery is a rapidly developing discipline in veterinary medicine, thanks to its widespread use in human medicine. During the past 20 years, veterinarians have watched a temporally similar development with arthroscopic surgery.

A Z-shaped incision can be created in an area of high skin tension to allow skin relaxation and lengthening. A Z-plasty involves transposing the two interdigitating flaps of skin formed by the incision.

Veterinarians routinely deal with lacerations, bite wounds, and mass removals in small-animal practice. When wound closure becomes difficult because of the location of the wound or the size of the mass, however, even the most confident veterinarian can be intimidated by the prospect of these surgeries.